


Songbird

by NobleD93



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen, Many potential love interests, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Girl in Thedas, Not always a songfic, Reverse Harem, Singing, Song Lyrics, Songfic, modern songs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-10 21:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18416099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobleD93/pseuds/NobleD93
Summary: Another Modern OC fic.A homeless young girl plays music every day for cash in order to survive. She dies after getting hit by a train, but wakes up in Thedas. Pairings not officially determined.This is a redo from the original fic from fanfiction.net/u/5384576/NobleD93





	1. A Thousand Years

**Author's Note:**

> Original fic from fanfiction.net/u/5384576/NobleD93
> 
> This is my own creation, and I am redoing it. There will be changes such as Megan having some knowledge of the game.
> 
> Original work is in this link https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11533886/1/Songbird

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Megan was standing on a balcony of the highest tower of the castle. Was she dreaming? That was the first thing that came to mind since the last thing she recalled was lying down the top of the bunk bed and the sound of Mr. Mason’s loud snoring.

Yet this place gave her a sense of solace and melancholy. Why? She wondered.

She took a step forward and climbed on the railings, standing on the edge of the balcony with the cold wind breezing in, nearly putting her off balance. The sky was beautiful that night with the two moons lightning up the sky with the stars. So many, many stars…

“ _MEGAN!_ ”

That voice…

She turned around slowly, and a blonde handsome man in medieval armor, wearing a lion pauldron, was approaching her. He reached out to her with fear in his eyes…

“Come down from there, Megan, please…!”

Who was this man?

Her body turned and she misplaced her step. She started to fall arms spread out, and she could feel the wind passing her. That man had run to the balcony edge, screaming, “NO!”

His hand reached out to her, but he was getting farther and farther away.

Then white feathers bloomed out of nowhere, blinding her…

.

.

.

Gasp.

Megan’s eyes flew open and she slowly sat up. She was back in the FEAST center, the place of solitude for the homeless.

“Morning.” An older African American woman greeted her with a smile, holding two cups of hot beverages. Mrs. McCray paused, giving her a strange look. “Oh my, bad dream?”

Megan blinked, wondering what she meant before she reached up and touched her cheek. Cold and sticky. Was she crying?

“O-Oh. I guess… but I can’t remember.” A lie, but she would rather not worry the sweet kind lady.

“My poor Cinnabon. Here. Have some cocoa.” She said, handing the second mug to Megan. “I was going to wake you. You did say you had an interview for work today?”

“I did, though not until later in the afternoon around 3:00 pm.” Megan said, gratefully taking the cat-printed mug, “Thank you.”

“So, where did you plan to go after waking up this early?” Mrs. McCray asked, raising a brow. “Don’t tell me you’re heading to the subway again to play music.”

“How else do I have to earn money? I have to ‘work’. I’ve been saving up enough money to buy some clothes for work, and the requirement is to wear black.” Megan explained, holding the warm mug close. “I want to make a good first impression…!”

Mrs. McCray’s lips curled to a warm smile. “Honey… you’ve always made a good first impression. I’m sure you’ll nail that job interview.”

Megan relaxed at that and she smiled back, happy for the vote of confidence. “Thanks… I needed that.”

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Nineteen-year-old Megan Lockhart made her way to the subway and set up her station. It was just starting to get a little crowded with people making their way for work. She took a deep breath and out before she began to pick at the strings, making sure they were tuned.

Then, the strings of the guitar resonated as she strummed the chords, playing the rhythm of the song of her choice. She memorized many songs, and this one was one of the most memorable ones.

“Heart. Beats. Fast. Colors and promises… How to be brave? How can I fall in love when I’m afraid…to…fall? But watching you stand…alone… all of my doubt. Suddenly goes away somehow…”

_Clink! Clank!_

Coins and even cash were dropped into the metal can, propped right beside her.

“One…step…closer…”

_Clink! Clank!_

“I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years…”

_Clink!_

“I’ll love you for a thousand more…”

_Clink! Clank!_

The rest of the morning, Megan Lockhart played a variety of songs that she knew how to play with her black guitar, hardly taking breaks. Her fingers were tired, but she just enjoyed playing music. It made her forget the misfortunes, and count only her own blessings.

To think, a little over a year ago, she was going to college. Then, the tragic incident with her father. When he passed away, brokers came to collect the debts. She soon lost the house, the pension, and even the money her father had saved up for her.

With nothing to pay, she withdrew from NYU.

Life was harsh for a while as she lived day by day, earning petty cash, just enough to get by. There were times when she had to cry her heart out, but she needed it to vent out all the sadness and frustration. However, she always stood bravely against the challenge of poverty and homeless.

In a cruel world where people are usually selfish… she is happy to find people like Mrs. McCray who would show kindness to her when she had nothing at all.

Soon, she stopped as she had gotten enough cash. She packed up her things and she went over to another homeless buddy that she usually chatted with, and she placed a ten-dollar bill in his jar.

The middle-aged man with the red beanie looked up at her with a raised brow.

“Megan. What do you think you’re doing?” He demanded.

“What’s wrong, Eddy?” Megan grinned widely. “I’m just buying you a cup of coffee? My treat.”

He frowned further. “You earned this money all on your own. You don’t need to keep handing me out some.”

“But I want to,” Megan insisted and she flashed him her best smile. “Maybe someday soon you’ll take me out for a latte too. Hang in there, Eddy.”

One kind action will start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion that will spread to others. She knew that he was saving up money to buy a suit so he could secretly attend his daughter’s wedding, which was two months from now.

Edward smiled back. “I give up… And yeah. I’ll get you that latte too, little missy.”

Megan waved at him bye, smiling before moving away now to go buy a train ticket. She could still get to Ross if she took the Broadway metro station. She waited behind the yellow line, humming a song that has been stuck in her head lately. Maybe she should try to play it in the train. Actually, she should check to sure she had enough to buy a whole set of black, professional clothing.

She opened up her purse and started counting when suddenly thick, large hands reached out to grab her purse.

On instinct, she clutched her purse tightly. This wasn’t her first mugging after all.

She kicked the mugger hard. “Let go! HELP!” She screamed.

The people just watched, unsure what to do as the mugger pulled roughly. Was no one going to help her? Then again, she learned long ago not to expect help from anyone.

She kicked him again, whatever good that did, and perhaps she had pissed the mugger off.

“You bitch!”

He threw a punch, striking her across the face. She let go of her purse, crying out. The force of impact caused her to move back, but she felt no ground. She tumbled over, off the platform and unto the rail tracks.

The train’s horn blared aloud, resounding in the tunnel with people screaming.

One among them, she heard Edward shouting, “MEGAN!!”

A blinding light shrouded her vision as this huge machinery came right at her. Upon impact, she felt the pain before it faded instantaneously.

And the world faded to black for her.

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.

.

She gasped aloud, only to cough and choke on nothing but air. Nonsensical memories that couldn’t be hers came flooding in of spiders chasing her and a glowing, golden, floating woman—It was all so very strange.

But nothing as stranger as where she woke up.

“The prisoner’s awake!”

“Someone, go get the seeker!”

Blades were drawn immediately, being aimed right at her as she was still trying to regain her composure. Was she still dreaming? She thought, seeing as these guards were wearing medieval armor. What’s more was that this whole place was so familiar to her as if she had gone through this before but in a whole different point of view.

Something was nagging in the back of her mind that she should know this, but she was still disoriented. The train’s blaring horn still resonated within her mind as she saw it come for her…

Did she die?

If she did… did she survive? But why was she here…?

The doors flew open and her breath was caught in her throat when two familiar, female figures of authority strode right in, carrying all the tension in the air.

That recognizable nose-cringing sneer eyeing down at her.

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you right now—”

“Cassandra?!”

The usual gaming dialogue was halted as said ‘Cassandra’, the woman with the black hair and the crown braid, was now staring at her dumbfoundedly.

“Do _I_ know you?” She asked.

Megan was gaping before nervous laugh escaped her lips. “Hahaha… it’s Cassandra… and Leliana… I’m insane. I’ve gone insane. The train hit me too hard———actually, if I happened to have survive that incident, which is almost like a miracle, then that could explain why I’m having this delusional dream. Yes… I am dreaming—AAH!”

An agonizing pain shot out from her left palm, pulsating through her soul, and a familiar green light charred like electricity going off the fritz. She glanced down and horror swept across the face.

It was the mark.

No… She shouldn’t be feeling pain in this dream, right?

Then… was she kidnapped by LARPERS? She had been hearing of cultists existing, and why wouldn’t they? This was New York City after all.

Now, she was starting to doubt if she was even in America anymore.

This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.

“What isn’t real?” Cassandra demanded.

Megan shook her head. She was still hearing and seeing the Seeker. She started ramming the shackles on the ground. “Get it off of me!! Get the mark off of me!! This isn’t real! None of you are real! I’m not even supposed to be here!!”

Leliana raised a brow at the girl’s shock, but she questioned her, “What do you mean?”

“I’m supposed to be DEAD!” She screamed out, then she stopped, blinking away the tears that were forming. “At least I think I am… I died, didn’t I?”

“So, you _are_ the murderer!” Cassandra only added more fuel to the fire as she marched over, grabbing Megan by her collar. “ _You_ are responsible for killing everyone in the Conclave! You killed Divine Justinia! But you failed to take your own life!”

_What?!_

“ _No!_ NO, I DIDN’T!! I don’t know what you’re talking about!!” She said, and began to struggle frantically, crying out in terror “ _GET AWAY FROM ME!!_ ”

Cassandra let her go and Megan dropped to the floor even further, curling up as she began to sob uncontrollably. She was going through a shock, trying to process this dream or this reality. This couldn’t be reality. She was shaking, and she couldn’t control herself. She didn’t even know why she was crying. She had an idea why, but not truly.

Thankfully, Leliana stepped in, whispering to the seeker, “Let me try talking to her.”

“Aren’t her words proof enough, Leliana?”

“We need her alive.”

This… they were back on the dialogue again.

Megan had played the games so long ago. She could hardly remember what those were, or how they came to be.

Leliana approached her, eyeing at her strange clothing first. Surely, if someone like her was there at the Conclave, no one would forget her. Her agents would most likely mention her. The girl’s skirt was just above her knees, showing so much of her legs, even if she was wearing net-like stockings. Also, those black boots are of an unrecognizable material.

“…What do you remember?” Leliana inquired, keeping to the topic.

At first, Megan didn’t answer. Maybe if she didn’t answer, she would wake up, but it wouldn’t be fair to Leli.

When she finally calmed down a bit, she answered, “I… I remember getting by a train—oh, you probably don’t know what a train is… umm… it’s a huge, long carriage that can hold more than twelve hundred people.”

Leliana’s brows raised. “More than twelve hundred?”

Megan slowly nodded. “Right? I should be dead.”

The Spymaster paused a moment, perhaps thinking if she should correct the girl that she was more so questioning on the possibility of a carriage existing to carry more than a thousand people———but then, Leli would just be wasting her time on a very troubled girl.

“And then what?” She prompted.

“…Spiders. Spiders were chasing after me, and… a woman…” Megan said, frowning as she remembered vaguely. “…She was glowing very brightly, but I know who she was. Divine Justinia, I think, or maybe even just a Spirit of Faith. I’m not really sure…”

The spymaster stiffened a bit at her claim. “…How sure are you?”

“I am sure. She said to take her hand, and I took it, and… the rest I can’t remember. I try, but I can’t… I… I tried, Leliana.” Megan said, now looking up at her, with a few more tears spilling over. “I’m sorry… but I tried.”

Megan saw the spymaster’s eyes tremble but then she turned around, hiding her face.

Cassandra stepped forward, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift.”

Rift? Is this really Thedas? Megan didn’t feel like she was waking up any time soon. Or was she already awake?

“I can help!” She said just as Leliana walked out the door.

Cassandra paused a moment, glancing down at her. “Help? How?”

“This mark!” Megan gestured. “It _can_ close rifts! It _can_ close the Breach! I just need Solas to work it--!”

“You know the apostate?” She sneered, and maybe she was already thinking that the egghead was responsible for the conclave.

“N-no!! He doesn’t know me——look, I know things! And I know I haven’t proven to you anything yet for you to trust what I say, but believe me this, I can close the rifts!”

Something in Megan’s eyes must have made her sway the Seeker a bit because her expression softened.

Cassandra then knelt down, unlocking her shackles. “…It’s better if you see this first for yourself.”

The Seeker bound her wrists with ropes and took her up the stairs, and away from the cellar. They exited through the double doors and Megan gasped aloud, staring up at the impossible mess up in the sky. The swirling vortex that spat out comets and demons everywhere…

“We call it… the _Breach_.”

Megan’s knees buckled before falling unto the snow. Shock and realization were rippling through her again once more, convincing her that this was reality. The snowflakes falling and touching her face, her knees freezing from the cold ground———everything around her was telling her that she wasn’t dreaming.

She’s in the game. The Dragon Age Inquisition.

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	2. Unravel

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Megan was starting to feel the cold biting her skin, getting chills from the clothing that wasn’t technically for heavy winter, but only for fall. She was taken into a separate cabin and a servant came in, handing some clothes that looked exactly like the clothing from the game.

She started to dress behind a wooden folding screen, struggling to put these clothes one. She knew the pants and shirt, but the rest like the harness was a little more difficult to put on. Also, the armor paddings. They were also difficult to put on.

“What sort of clothing is this?” Cassandra voiced out from the other side of the screen. Perhaps she was looking at the mini black skirt that Megan had hung on the divider.

“It’s a skirt.”

“Why is it cut so short?”

“…It’s the fashion.” Megan answered hesitantly. Should she tell them?

Cassandra was probably wearing a disgusted look as she grunted, saying, “Ugh, Orlesians… but you don’t sound Orlesian.”

Megan covered her mouth to keep from guffawing. That’s right. Only Orlais would try to pull some fashion trend. She recalled a banter between Vivienne and Sera where the tits would be sticking out in triangular frozen shapes.

“…I’m not from Orlais.”

“Then where are you from?”

“Ha! …Far, far away from here…” Megan was starting to feel her stomach churning uneasily, but she couldn’t have another breakdown right now. She needed to hold out a bit.

She stepped out from the screen. “Did I put it on right?”

Cassandra didn’t seem too impressed before she moved in and unstrapped the armor pads, putting them on correctly for the girl. Megan blushed bashfully but she let the Seeker fix her as if she was an uncoordinated child.

Once she was ready, they made their way out of Haven. Megan kept her head down, keeping close to Cassandra as she avoided the looks of hatred and anger. She was really being used as a sacrificial goat even though this wasn’t her fault. Was it?

She would like to think that Bioware wouldn’t kill off their protagonist so quickly… Then again, they killed off Commander Shepard in second game, but only brought him back to life. That’s a situation she’s not really looking forward to experience. The player has to survive this right?

What’s worse was that she played the Dragon Age games long ago, and she only had a bit knowledge of the game. She never had the chance to buy the Dragon Age Inquisition game, so she didn’t know how the game was, _but_ she had seen some spoilers of it.

She knew the rifts can be closed, but she was unsure whether or not she might live through it. What if, because she was here, the story might not be the same? What if she did die?

“How sure are you that you can close the rift?” Cassandra asked her as they were now hiking up the trail. Soldiers then passed by, running for their lives, as one said ‘Maker! It’s the end of the world!’

Yup. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

“It will!” Megan answered back, gathering some confidence of herself, despite how unsure she was living through this.

The Seeker looked back at her, searching for something, before turning to face forward. “Let’s hope you’re right for your sake.”

It had better work, or else, you die. Is that what she meant? Megan blanched a bit, and she did recall Cassandra being a bit hardcore. The Seeker did stab a book in the second game.

“ _AHH!_ ”

The breach let out an explosion in the sky and simultaneously her mark acted up, throttling her with pain that made her collapse to her knees.

Megan clutched her hand tightly, riding out the pain. This was really nothing she had ever felt before. It was just unbearably painful. Cassandra moved towards her and knelt down, giving her a long moment to recover.

Once the pain was slowly subsiding, the Seeker helped her up to her feet.

She shied away. “I-I’m fine.”

The Seeker didn’t retort, but a hint of concern was on her face. She looked at her a bit longer before she finally started walking ahead, gesturing for Megan to follow. Timidly, she followed, complying.

“We must hurry. The thresholds would only get stronger now.”

“Oh joy…” Megan dryly responded as they hiked up the road. Her ankles were already aching from this treacherous trek. It’s like that time when she walked up the Russian hill in San Francisco with her father long ago. It was a challenge proposal, and she regretted accepting it.

She was then reminded of her father’s guitar.

“C-Cassandra!” I called out to her in urgency and she faced me. “Was I carrying something after coming out of the fade? It should be black and—”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes. Did it have a strange lute design inside it?”

Thank God. Relief swept over Megan. “Y-yes… It belonged to my father.”

The Seeker softened at that. “Oh… do you play?”

“I can play.”

“So, you a bard, then?”

“Uhm, musician. Is it--…” Megan trailed off as they came upon the bridge. She was starting to get extremely worried as this area felt very familiar.

Cassandra continued walking ahead, but stopped. “What is it?”

“I… There’s something wrong.” She told her while clutching her left wrist. “…The bridge isn’t safe.”

The Seeker scoffed. “It is perfectly fine, now stop dawdling. We need to keep moving.”

But Megan remembered this somewhere, maybe one of the spoilers in the game? Like the bridge collapsing? The seeker and the protagonist falling off the bridge, tumbling on the icy lake.

That was it, wasn’t it?

“Please move!!” Megan started to shout, catching the soldiers’ attention. “The bridge is going to fall! Get out of there!”

The soldiers gave her looks of disbelief and uncertainty while the Seeker marched over to her, grabbing her arm. “Stop causing a scene--”

“I am not! They need to move!”

Cassandra gave her one hard long look, before she barked out the order. “Stay clear off the bridge!! You heard her! Hurry!”

Megan was glad, even if the Seeker may not believe her. Maybe she did that to shut her up and prove to her that nothing was wrong. The soldiers started moving off of the bridge and just as they did, falling debris from the Breach came crashing right in the center of the bridge. The stone bridge collapsed, and the soldiers _almost_ didn’t make it out of there as one nearly tumbled down if his friend didn’t grab him in time and pulled him into safety.

The Seeker whirled around, shock on her face. “How did you know?”

Megan didn’t answer, but they heard a cry for help. One soldier didn’t really make it over the bridge. She looked over the edge and saw one scout trapped under the stone rubble. His leg pinned down.

“We have to help him!” She said, rushing down, trying to safely get down to the rubble.

Cassandra followed her as well.

When they got down to the frozen river, demons were coming out from the leftover debris.

“Stay behind me!” She said as she rushed off to take care of the lesser shade that sprouted.

Megan just rushed over to the soldier, trying to push the rubble off of his leg. “H-hold on!” She said.

“Behind you!” He said.

Megan turned to see another demon was out from the debris. She looked around frantically, trying to figure out what she should do. Should she run? If she would run, the scout will die. She couldn’t let that happen; however, she also didn’t want to die.

Frantically looking around, she spotted a sword just behind the crates that had fallen from the bridge. She rushed over to pick it up and the shroud followed after her.

She brought the blade up, just in time to block the demon’s claws. The force of impact was heavy that she couldn’t grip it tightly. The lesser shade had knocked the blade out of her hands. “Eep!” She let out a small sound of fright as the demon raised its claws again.

She tried to dodge it, by leaping and rolling out of the way. Unfortunately, the demon had swiped her left shoulder, and she let out cry, tumbling. She hastily got back up on her feet, clutching the bleeding wound.

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

She could feel the warm liquid that was seeping through the cloth. She pulled her hand back and saw the blood on it. _Her_ blood.

It didn’t stop. It wasn’t enough that it wounded her, it wanted her dead. It let out a hollow snarl as it chased after her again. Fearing for her life, adrenaline shot through her as she quickly snatched the sword from the ground. She didn’t really know what was stopping her from just running away, but she knew one thing that she didn’t want to die.

She remembered this one time when a prank was played on her. Awful and cruel prank. Someone was stalking her as she was walking home from school. The guy was wearing a hoodie and a face mask, so she didn’t really know. Quickly, she had taken out the scissors from her backpack and used it as a weapon. The guy revealed himself to be just one of her friends, and her other two friends came out, showing that they were only playing around. She stopped hanging out with them after that, and they stay cleared from her.

She was afraid, but she was not backing down.

Clueless and untrained she is, she swung the blade at the demon who sidestepped the attack. It was raising its long sharp nails and clawed right down, but she only swung the blade again, this time, stopping it as she sliced its hand-claw off.

The demon squealed in agony, and Megan saw her chance.

She thrusted the blade towards the demon, stabbing its guts. It screeched, and Megan yelled. With all her strength, she pushed the blade through. And then it died, fading into nothing.

She dropped the sword, falling into her knees as she gripped her bleeding shoulder tightly. She heard footsteps coming from behind her, but she knew it had to be the seeker.

“Are you alright?” She asked, and Megan could hear the concern in her voice.

“I-I’m fine…”

The seeker let out a sigh, and it bordered between relief and frustration. She had knelt down and popped off the cork from a bottle with her teeth. The bottle had a glowing red liquid. Was that a healing potion?

“Here. Let me see.” She said and Megan let her. She showed her shoulder and the Seeker poured the liquid on it.

There was a faint glow and the pain instantly subsided. The wound had now closed. She was miraculously healed. For a moment, she was in awe. There was nothing like this on Earth.

“Here. Drink the rest of this.” She ordered.

Reluctantly, Megan took the bottle and took a sip. She blanched at the taste that was very similar to drinking wheatgrass shot. “Euggh! That… was disgusting…!”

Cassandra let out a disgruntled ‘ugh’ as she urged the prisoner, “Hurry! Drink it all.”

Megan stared at the bottle with disdain even though there was only so little left of it. She forced down the rest of the contents, trying not to breathe as she swallowed the concoction.

“ _Euuuugghhhh~~!!_ ”

The taste was still horrible, and the Seeker was not amused.

The soldier that was pinned had been removed from the rubble by his buddies. While Megan had distracted the demon, they had already ventured down to get him out. It was a relief.

“Pick up your sword.” Megan whirled to face the Seeker, giving her a look. Is she serious? The Seeker continued, “You may not be good at it, but I cannot protect you all on my own. There’s a shield over there too.”

Megan shook her head frantically, refusing, “B-but—you saw me just now, right? I’m not good at this—”

“I can see that, but we need you alive, and if you want to live, you will need to fight back!”

“No, no, no! This can’t really be happening!” Megan screamed. Once more, she was reminded of the impossible circumstances that she was dropped in. She had just gotten hurt by a demon—a demon that should only exist in video games. “Demons can’t exist! They aren’t supposed to exist! This _can’t_ be real!”

“Oh, it is real, now get a hold of yourself!” Cassandra shouted, grabbing Megan’s shoulders and shaking her. “Pick up the sword and shield. Now!”

At that moment, Megan had thought of running, but the chances of escaping were pretty low. Plus, she really didn’t want to get tackled by the Seeker lady, who was taller than her and is clad in full battle armor.

Trembling, she resigned to her fate, reluctantly picking up the sword and the shield left on the side. It was a wooden buckler, but still a little too heavy for her to carry.

As they ventured further into the valley, they came across wraiths attacking them with energy-like orbs that hurt. She felt one hit her and she nearly collapsed. It felt like her insides were slashed. She quickly brought the shield up and the orbs disappeared upon contact. Cassandra made quick work on a lesser shroud before moving to the wraith.

The more she witnessed, the less likely she was going to get out of this alive.

“Quickly! We must help them!” Cassandra called out.

They had made it up a flight of stairs, and Megan came across the first sight of the rift. It seemed like a tear in the air that lead back to the beyond: a portal to the fade. Even she could see there was some sort of desolate wasteland through the crystallizing energy surrounding the tear, bubbling and oozing murky liquid.

Megan had seen demos of the Dragon Age Inquisition, and let’s just say, they may have mellowed it.

She stood there, witnessing the horrifying moment of the rift bleeding out black ooze. The liquid pooled around the area and demons begun to spawn out from it. There were no limits of just one or two. There were more than five, six… It seemed like they would keep coming out endlessly. And already, two soldiers have fallen to their deaths.

Shit!

If she wasn’t careful, she might die too.

This was crazy… this can’t be real!

“Hey! Watch it!” Someone shouted and Megan saw a shade coming right for her. She stiffened in fear, unable to lift her shield to block the attacking claw.

However, an arrow shot out of nowhere, hitting the demon right through its skull. The demon disintegrated, and Megan turned around to search for the source. She saw a familiar dwarf with ginger hair pulled back to a half-pony tail, and he was carrying a repeating crossbow. Let’s not forget the chest hair.

Varric Tethras.

“Kid! Behind you!” He shouted and Megan turned to see the fiery shade.

She pulled up her shield, blocking its attack in time. It felt like a heavy boulder had hit her shield, but it was flaming hot. She could feel it through the buckler, and she feared the shield might burn. Then, suddenly, she saw snow coming from the other side of the shield and a halt screech. The flames were extinguished.

When she lowered the shield, the demon was nothing but an icicle.

How?

Megan looked to the left and saw an _elf_. An actual, _real_ ELF! Excitement aside, his hands were glowing and so was the staff he was holding. Was that Solas? She recalled there was some sort of big secret about him. She recalled the trailer of Trespasser which was supposedly the last DLC to Dragon Age: Inquisition.

‘ _I suspect you have questions.’_

She shuddered a bit. She had wondered... was he somehow responsible to all this?

She should know the answer, right?

“Don’t just stand around! Move!” Megan heard Cassandra barking at her again, and that prompted her to move and join the fight. She rushed right to an unsuspecting demon and stabbed it through from the behind.

Once the demons were cleared out, _Solas_ grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to the rift.

“Quickly! Before more come through!”

“Wha--!” He didn’t stop as he thrust her hand into the rift and Megan felt an instant connection. It was… a very odd sensation. If she had to describe the feeling, it was like she was the USB chord connecting to this port, which was the rift. However, there was the sensation of tugging and pulling. The longer she pulled, the more intense the connection felt. The rift glowed brighter and brighter, coagulating…

She then had enough and wrenched her hand away, closing her fist. The rift then exploded, sending a blast of wind that brushed pass them, before shutting tightly away.

The rift was closed.

“Well, shit… it worked.” She heard Varric comment.

“I-It… what did you do…? How did you…?” Megan couldn’t form sentences right now. The experience was just too much.

 The elf only smiled. “I did nothing. The credit is yours.”

“S-so… this… this can…?” Megan was having difficulty forming sentences.

“Whatever magic that was used to open the breach, that very same magic has been placed upon you.” He explained further in a triumphant tone as if he had proved his own hypothesis. He probably did. “It seems like you are the key to our salvation.”

No. Megan did not want that.

“Glad we’re not going to be ass deep in demons forever,” Varric said as he placed Bianca on his back. He walked over to them. “Varric Tethras, at your service. Handsome rogue, storyteller, and occasionally an unwelcome tag-along.”

“Megan… pleased to meet you.” This was where Megan should have been more excited, but it sounded shakier than she thought it would come out. Varric even threw a look of concern at her.

Megan then heard the elf chuckle. “You would soon come to regret that.”

“Your help was not needed, Varric,” Cassandra pointedly said, crossing her arms.

Varric with ease rebutted, “Have you seen the valley, Seeker? Your soldiers are not in control anymore.”

The disgusted glare she gave him made Megan take a step back away from the Seeker. Jesus, if looks could kill… Megan had no idea the relationship between her and the author was sooo… toxic? No, that’s not the word. Friction? Sparks? No, no, not romance. Umm…grating? There’s a word for them…

“If there are to be any introductions, I am Solas.” The elf prompted, thankfully moving the topic along. “I’m glad to see you still yet live.”

Varric then helpfully informed her, “He meant I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.”

“Oh… thank you…” Megan responded with uncertainty. Not that she was ungrateful, but letting her die would have been a more peaceful prospect to her against all the craziness that was happening. She was still in the borderline between if she was really in Thedas, or if she really was just going crazy.

“You can thank us by closing the rift.” He said, then he turned to face the Seeker. “Cassandra. The magic is immense here, much beyond the power of any mage. Luckily, the prisoner is no made. It is hard to imagine any mage should carry this much power.”

Cassandra frowned. “But would she be enough to close the Breach?”

The Breach… Megan glanced up at the swirling hole in the sky and she began to realize something…

“She can, and she must try with all her might.”

After Solas said such a thing, she was definitely sure she was going to die again.

“…I don’t want to do this anymore.” The words slipped out in a whisper, but audible enough for the three to hear.

There was a momentary silence, before the Seeker sputtered, “What? What did you say? What makes you think that you can stop--”

“I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS!!” She screamed, causing the Seeker to falter. Then, she began to pace back and forth, insanity overwhelming her. “This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real!! I am supposed to be dead! I can’t be here! You can’t all be real! This is a dream--!”

“Will you get a grip?!” Cassandra yelled, grabbing Megan’s arms and trying to get the girl to calm down. “Stop being such a child--!”

Nothing was stopping Megan from her rant as she continued, “This isn’t real, this isn’t real! I’m in a hospital, dying on my death bed and my mind fabricated all this fucking chaos in my head…!”

Cassandra tried again, “Look at me--”

“ _LET ME GO!!_ ” She screamed again, struggling frantically as she pushed the Seeker off of her. She bolted into a sprint.

She ran and ran, and sadly didn’t get too far, before tripping over a rock. Her face planting right on the icy snow. That…calmed her down a bit. She slowly sat up, but doubled over, gripping her left wrist tightly as it started to hurt again. Pain… that should have been a clear indicator that she _is_ awake, but… how can she accept this real?

This couldn’t be real. She shut her eyes tightly, hands covering her face as she tried to take deep breaths.

_Breathe… just breathe, Megan…_

_Please… please, wake up…_

_I didn’t ask to live in this fantasy! Please, let me wake up!_

A few more seconds after, she slowly opened her eyes and raised her head.

…Nope. She was still in the snowy mountain with the fucking breach up in the sky. Her shoulders slumped as reality was slowly crashing down her.

This… this was real. This was _ALL_ real.

_Damn it… damn it all…!_

“Hey… Megan, was it?”

She whirled around, glaring vehemently, even if it was at her favorite dwarf in the Dragon age series. Varric held his hands up, slowly approaching her in peace. Cassandra and Solas were off to the far side, deciding to let the rogue handle this situation. He is a people-person after all.

“…Mind if I join you?” He asked.

Megan shrugged in response.

Varric knelt down, taking it as an approval. “How old are you, kid?”

She looked away. “…Nineteen…”

“Nineteen---- _nineteen?!_ ” Varric was more shocked to hear the news. Something he couldn’t hide. He must have turned to give a glare at the seeker because the snow shifted a bit, but then he turned right back, sighing, “Well… shit.”

That was an understatement, Megan thought.

“…I take it you never fought a demon before, let alone lifted a sword?”

“Neither… Where I’m from, there are no such thing as demons. Also, it’s illegal to carry weapons in public.”

The dwarf raised a brow at that. “Your accent is hard to place… Where are you from?”

That made Megan laugh bitterly. “Hahaha… far… _far_ away from here… Varric, I don’t know how I got here, but… I know I died.”

Just like in the game, it really felt like that she could talk to Varric about almost anything. The guy would take it seriously, even if he would be humoring to them. He at least showed he cared more than others did, and genuinely, he usually does care more than others.

“…And now, I woke up here in this place, accused of being some murderer and now forced to prove my innocence. I can’t remember anything, Varric. I don’t know how or why the Conclave exploded—I don’t know anything else…! I just… I just want to go home.”

Go home…?

Megan scoffed. “Pfft! Home? Haha… what am I saying? I don’t even have a home.”

Varric tilted his head, prompting. “Why not?”

“It’s complicated… but usually, I live in the streets.”

“You…look pretty good for someone living in the streets.” He noted.

“You are very kind, but I’m sure I look worse for wear…” Megan said, then she sighed, the nerves getting to her. Anxiety issues were rising, making her tremble. “I-I can’t do this, Varric… I can’t… I feel like I’m going to die again, and I don’t want to die… I’m scared… I’m so scared…”

Tears were falling down from Megan’s eyes. This was all too much for her to handle, and she felt so alone right now. Why would anyone enjoy being transported here?

“…Shit… Look, kid… if it’s any consolation, I’m sorry… I don’t think you were at fault here at all.” He said, and his words did help her a bit. “…But we need you right now, even if everyone is ungrateful. We need your help…”

Megan let out a sigh and hugged herself closer. She took more deep breaths as she realized he was asking her to fight.

“…Say… we found you carrying a black case that had an odd-looking lute in it. You a bard?” He asked.

“No, but close enough… well, I suppose it’s the same thing…”

“Mind if I request a song?”

Megan smiled painfully. “What song? Our songs are very different.”

Varric only smiled back, encouraging, “Just any song. Maybe it will help you to calm down? …I promise you I won’t write this part down. I’ll make it grander.”

That made her laugh, but she took his words seriously. Sing a song?

“…A song… in this situation?”

“If it would help, no harm in trying.”

Megan looked at him as if he was crazy—ha! As if she was one to talk, but he was right. No harm in trying. She was sure Cassandra could spare three minutes of her singing.

Only one song came into mind…

“ _So, teach and tell me, teach and tell me, oh why…is this… my life?_ ”

Varric raised a brow, and already he could tell this was no ordinary song, and something that was obviously out of this world.

Megan didn’t falter. “ _Is someone else in me? Just waiting to break free…? My world keeps twisting---still, it’s twisting without an end in sight… You laugh ‘cause you can’t see… beyond the black and white._ ”

The song was twisting in a mellow yet haunting melody, though it was strangely calming her down. “ _Please unravel my soul… please unravel my soul, and give me control…_ ”

 

Cassandra and Solas were wondering what was taking them so long. They moved towards them to see if Varric was any closer into convincing Megan to help. However, they soon started to hear her sing…

“ _Aaaaaahh…ahh…ahhhhhhh…_ ”

Singing? At this time? Cassandra was dumbfounded and was ready to end this nonsense, but Solas gestured her to stop. “Wait. She’s calming down.” He whispered to her.

“We don’t have time.” The seeker protested.

“But we must give time.”

Reluctantly, she complied and stayed quiet. Although, she moved in a little closer to listen. Solas as well. After all, this was a song that they have never heard before, and the tune was so…

“ _I’m struggling just to breathe again. Could this one be my last?_ ”

Was it sadness?

“ _Unravel me, please unravel my soul, make reality… **freeze.**_ ”

The three felt a chill going down their spines. They could see she was no longer shaking, but they could see something else, and Varric knew a word stronger than sadness.

“ _I’m breakable, unbreakable. I’m shaking yet unshakable, and finally, this drives me mad…!_ ”

It was despair. He thought.

 “ _Unravel this world around me just before it pulls me under! But now at this rate, I fear it’s too late! There’s no hope trying to save me from this fate…! I fear it will kill me… this fantasy won’t let me go, now I’m trapped in this world. The demons coming, the breach is growing, I need to close it! And when I do, please do remember me…_ ”

Megan let out a sigh as she finished, “ _As who I’ll always be…_ ”

It was quiet.

Taking another breath, she picked up her sword and shield. Stop thinking of death, she told herself. _You already died, Megan… what’s wrong with dying a second time?_ She asked herself. _And this time… my death would save people._

Her life had to be worth something. Perhaps this is it.

“…I’m ready.” She said, turning around to see Varric, Solas, and Cassandra.

Another silence passed before Cassandra gathered herself. “Let’s keep moving to the forward camp.”

As they marched on, they fought more demons ahead. With Megan feeling numbed, it helped her to be more focus on the fight. She was trying to be a little smarter in her swings, especially watching Cassandra more closely. Of course, she was not at the seeker’s level at all, she was still getting help from Solas and Varric. This wasn’t a game after all.

But, singing made herself resign to her fate. It made it easier for her to accept it.

When they Chancellor Roderick, she was mostly appalled by his very existence. Still, there has to be a reason why Bioware placed him here, right? To be quite an annoying authoritative figure? He must serve a purpose, right?

“So, which is it?” Cassandra asked.

Megan stumbled a bit. “What?”

The Seeker heavily sighed as she painfully repeated their choices. “Should we charge in or take the mountain pass?”

“You’re asking me now?”

“You have the mark.” Solas helpfully pointed out.

Megan glanced back at him before to Cassandra thinking, and weighing on her options. “…We take the mountain pass.” She answered, much to the Seeker’s disappointment. “…Those scouts might still be alive. We must hurry.”

Varric seemed to approve.

Cassandra sighed and she turned to Leliana. “Gather everyone in the valley, Leliana. Everyone.”

Roderick’s face bunched up and then he snarled, “On your head be the consequences, Seeker--!”

“Oh, _shut up!_ ” Megan countered, baffling the Chancellor with her spitfire words. “You out of all people should know what is at stake here! If we don’t stop this now, there’ll be rifts _everywhere_ in every town, village, and city! There’ll be demons sprawling about, and here and now, we have a chance of closing it! And let me tell you this, _I_ can close it!”

Everyone had stopped to listen now, and even the spectators working and those who were praying were listening into this.

The Chancellor soon recovered and refuted, “You shouldn’t be spouting out false hope!”

“In this world where a woman becomes the Maker’s Bride, where every blight can never truly win, and where Champions and Heroes like Cassandra and Hawke have risen and saved countless people?? …There has never been anything _false_ about _hope_.”

Megan felt a bit guilty for plagiarism, but it was a quote that she would never forget from Barack Obama himself. Nothing false about hope.

She turned away immediately, hurrying up first. When she got ahead, Cassandra, Varric, and Solas quickly caught up to her.

Varric then said, “That was very impressive, kid. That last part was a quote, right?”

Megan smiled wryly. “Ah… you can tell? Please don’t quote me on that. It’s not really mine.”

He grinned. “Ohhh, I won’t. I’ll just borrow it.”

.

.

.


End file.
